Bringing global voices to the conversation: The Leaders in Urban Transport Council series begins

Last year, UITP and the Moscow Department of Transport began a collaboration to bring a global audience to the Russian capital for a discussion on urban mobility strategies and innovation around the world.

Like many other global events, the Leaders in Urban Transport Council was impacted by the restrictions brought on with the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, by moving to a digital format, we are able to bring the much-needed discussion to the screen, with a series of five virtual events featuring new speakers and topics with each edition.

With COVID-19 changing our daily lives; altering our planned vision for the future and impacting public transport in many ways, we’ve brought together new ideas and expert voices for the first in the series with a focus on ‘The Bigger Picture’.

Led by our esteemed panel of Michele Dix, Managing Director of Crossrail 2, Maksim Liksutov, the Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport, Jeremy Yap, Deputy Chief Executive of LTA Singapore and our very own UITP Secretary General* Mohamed Mezghani, and moderated by UITP’s Andrea Soehnchen, an engaging conversation was held looking closely at the impact of the past twelves months on the sector and what the future may look like.

Public transport has played a crucial role during the difficult times brought on by the coronavirus pandemic by providing a vital service for those who needed to move around their cities.

As essential workers made their way to work, public transport was there for them. But it hasn’t been an easy time for the sector with financial losses and lower passenger numbers, growing economical pressure and a loss of trust with passengers. A lot of work has been done, and there is more still to do.

UITP is proud to have played a leading role in working closely with our international membership to assess the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and to produce content, insight, and knowledge on how we should collectively respond to the pandemic.

Our series of five webinars will be dedicated to discussing how public transport can come out stronger from the current global crisis.

Our panel of experts weighed in on a variety of topics as they looked at the bigger picture together.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected important public transport stakeholders, and our customers, the business community, manufacturers, and service providers have felt this impact.

Our audience heard how COVID-19 has impacted the cities our experts came to speak about…with Moscow, London and Singapore, we heard of the challenges that lie ahead.

Although the situations have been difficult, in Moscow, they were able to implement all planned public transport construction projects during the pandemic, as seven new metros opened in 2020 as planned. They also opened 15 new train stations and provided 1000 new buses, 400 electric buses, around 90 trams and 550 metro cars. Some schedules may have been changed, but the work continued during COVID-19. Positive steps for the future! 

COVID-19 has been a wake-up call for many sectors and the sense of community within public transport feels stronger than ever before. By working together, we can rebuild services and restore trust, so our cities remain more accessible and vibrant than ever before.

Thank you to our first set of experts for their time and insight!

A new webinar will be hosted each month for the entire series, with different speakers and topics every time. No matter which experts join us, the future of urban mobility will be the discussion of the day.

Stay connected to our dedicated events page for news on the series

Want to learn more about our activities in Eurasia? Visit our page!

*acting on behalf of Mohamed Mezghani SARL